Going Keto!

My name is Eliisa and I work here at Cronometer! I haven't formally introduced myself on the forums yet. I promise I will get around to telling you all about the variety of things I do here in the near future, but first I am hoping to get some assistance...

I recently decided to go keto - not to lose weight - but to reap the benefits of the keto diet; particularly the touted benefits of more energy and greater mental clarity. I know that a lot of you Cronometer users are ketogenic pros and I am hoping to draw on your guidance and wisdom to be successful with this lifestyle change. To this point my diet has largely been comprised of carbohydrates (to say I love candy is a massive understatement!) so I anticipate the switch to mostly fats and protein to have it's challenges. That being said I wholeheartedly welcome any advice you might have throughout my journey!

To keep things interesting I am going to post about going keto on our Instagram account (@cronometer_official) - I will give updates, track progress and break down this lifestyle change in honest terms. I welcome you to follow along and see what happens! I also welcome anyone who is also debating going keto to join me on this health journey; I am committing to the next 30 days with the option of continuing indefinitely.

Thank you so much for taking a moment to read this! Wish me luck!
Eliisa

I am just starting Keto and found this site - awesome so far. I have only been logging for two days. I have type 2 diabetes so this is a little intimidating. I started with a fast then dove right into keto a week and a half ago. Been getting dizzy spells. Had the keto Flu last week. 5 ft 6 @ 193 trying to get to 165 - 170 . My bp and my diabetic blood tests have been awesome. Have not lost one pound - frustrated! Would love to have a mentor who is Keto, Diabetic and willing to share experience and knowledge!

Make sure to watch your PRAL Alkalinity score. You can balance it out with 16 oz of juice from spinach, celery, tomato and garlic each day. Nutricost ketone salts are good for that as well. Also be sure to take Omega 3 fish or krill oil because keto diet has a tendency to be very high Omega 6 and very low Omega 3 so your 3-6 ratio will be really skewed.

@YogiSteven - these are all good tips. Since I understand the majority of the effect of your suggestions, but others might not, Im going to ask why these are important? Its easy to get confused by all of the nutritional recommendations that are available, but I find when the recommendations are explained, it seems easier to buy into the recommendation.

For example, hydration is important no matter what, but a ketogenic diet can be dehydrating, especially in the beginning, which makes it all the more important to take in lots of electrolytes. As you know, being dehydrated can lead to all sorts of issues, including fatigue. This is a common symptom that people have when they switch over to keto.

Inflammatory response is probably the leading factor in virtually all of the conditions that we call "disease" resulting from the Western lifestyle and diet. While the keto diet is great in many ways, it is also highly acidic, which contributes to inflammation. So balancing that out with some low carb vegetable options is important, and also with some supplementation of the right micronutrients such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium. Baking soda can help with this as well. Keto diet also tends to be skewed towards Omega 6 which also is inflammatory so needs to be balanced out with anti-inflammatory Omega-3. While I had great results from the keto diet right off the bat, I noticed that once I paid attention to these things the results were even better and my body shed the rest of the inflammation in the joints and muscles that had already improved greatly as a result of going low carb no sugar. So the "recipe" is No Sugar, Low Net Carb, High Fiber, Moderate Protein, High Good Fats, Balanced PRAL Alkalinity, Balanced to High Omega-3/Omega-6 Ratio. Is working like a miracle for me.

I've been doing keto for two years without tracking my macros. I'm hoping to tie up some lose ends with cronomenter. I'm trying to figure out how to save a food from the food search, with all the data in tact, to my food database. Can it be done?

@debbietay , You can't add a food to your diary from the Foods tab, but you can find the exact same food (with all the same data) by going to your diary, then selecting "Add Food" and using this search function. You can also mark a food as a favourite here.